Assignments

All assignments will be posted from the schedule page, which you should check regularly for updates. If an assignment refers to a chapter or section of a chapter, it is from the 6.033 class notes. If an assignment refers to a paper number, it typically is the number of the paper in the reading list. For your convenience, we have also posted electronic versions of most papers. If an assignment requires you to hand in something, then we expect you to do so at the beginning of the class meeting.

Quiz 3 will include a question based on Professor Abelson's lecture
about the interactions between law and regulation and computer systems.
The corresponding lecture slides are now available.

May 6, 2005

There are no tutorials today.

May 5, 2005

The guide to DP2 presentations that will take place on Tuesday is
now online.

May 3, 2005

DP2 tutoring hours from the Writing Program will be available Wednesday
from 2:30-5:00pm (32-083). No appointment necessary.
The Writing Program is also offering virtual tutoring on Tuesday and
Wednesday. Please contact Mya Poe (myapoe atdomain mit.edu) or Thea Singer
(thea.singer atdomain comcast.net) for virtual tutoring assistance.

May 2, 2005

Keith and Kyle will be holding marathon office hours Wednesday starting from 7:30pm in the 32G-9 lounge.

May 1, 2005

For the week of May 2nd, Bret's office hours will be held on Wednesday, from 2-4pm in 32-G918.

May 1, 2005

The atomicity requirement concerning done() in DP2 has been clarified. Check the DP2 Errata page to see what has changed.

Hands-on 7 has been amended to clarify that the key we ask you to use has expired.

Apr 26, 2005

If on DP1 you receive a grade of B- or less from the writing staff, you will have to revise DP1 and submit the revised version to the writing staff for re-evaluation. This is the only assignment that needs to be revised. The due date for the revision is listed on the feedback sheet attached to the DP1 report you submitted to the writing program.

DP2 Proposals are dueThursday, April 21st. The TAs
have scheduled additional office hours on
Wednesday, April 20th in the
32-G9 lounge as follows. Kyle, Miguel: 12-2pm; Bret: 4-6pm; Stan: 6-8pm. Since Drop Date is Thursday, April 21st, the TAs can return your Quiz 2 during office hours on Wednesday.

NOTE: You must see the TA associated with the recitation you attend to get your quiz back.

Apr 14, 2005

Keith will hold office hours today from 4-6pm.
Kyle will hold office hours today from 5-7pm.
All office hours will be in the 32-G9 lounge.

Apr 12, 2005

Reminder: Quiz 2 review session will be held
tomorrow, on April 13th, 7 PM - 9 PM in room 2-190.

Apr 8, 2005

Quiz 2 is scheduled for Friday, April 15. Additional details, including past exams, can be found here.

You may submit DPs late, subject to the following penality. We reduce by one letter grade the maximum grade your DP can receive for each recitation after the due date it is submitted. Note, this is a ceiliing, not a deduction, and we round up to the next recitation.

For example, if the assignment is due in R13, and you submit it after R13, but on or before R14, the maximum grade your DP can get is a B.

This policy means, for example, that an "A+, A, A-, or B+" paper is capped at a B, but a B paper stays a "B".

If you hand the paper in after R14 but on or before R15, the maximum grade is "C".

Note that you have to submit DP1 on or before the last day of class to pass 6.033.

Please note new Quiz 1 location for all students: QUIZ 1 WILL TAKE PLACE IN WALKER
MEMORIAL GYM (50-340)

Feb 28 2005

To help you prepare for the quiz, the TAs are
holding marathon office hours this week. Stan Rost
will be available in the 32-G9 lounge on Wednesday
4:30-7:30. Miguel Ferreira will hold office hours
on Thursday 5:30-7, at the same location.

When handing in your DP1 proposal tomorrow,
remember to hand in two copies.
Also, do not forget to add to your submission the list
of people with whom you have collaborated.

Writing program requirement change:
only DP1 needs to be rewritten if a writing grade
lower than B- is obtained.

The final word: Quiz 1 review session will be held
on Thursday, March 3rd, in 32-123, 7 PM - 9 PM.

Feb 23 2005

The initial installment of the Design Project
1 FAQ
is now online. The FAQ is
expected to evolve within the
next few days, so please check
back periodically.

Feb 22 2005

The second (and final) installment of the course
notes will be available on Thursday, February 24,
2005. This supplement will include chapter 11 and a
chapter on problems and solutions. You can obtain
these materials (over 380 pages in all) from
CopyTech for about $13.

There will be a Quiz 1 Review Session on Thursday, March 3, 7 PM - 9 PM in 32-123.

Also check out the section on the "General Information" page for how 6.033 meets the CI-M requirements and what the related writing requirements for 6.033 are. If you have questions about this policy, contact Professor Balakrishnan.

Notes from the writing program lecture are now available HERE and from the schedule page.

Feb 14 2005

If you are still having difficulties with One-Pager #2, you may focus on the use of pipes in the Unix shell and ignore the use of the pipe() command. If you can't think of any negatives, then you may discuss some ways in which pipes make it easier to compose programs together than other methods for program composition that you know of -- for example, linking, which we learned about in Lecture on Monday.

If you have not received your graded one-page essay #1 yet (two copies, one graded by the Writing Program), they may be among the remaining graded essays that will be returned on Friday at the end of the writing lecture.

Feb 9 2005

On Friday, February 11, there will be a writing lecture in 32-123 at 2pm. It is not an optional lecture. Since a significant fraction of your grade in 6.033 is based on your ability to organize and present technical material well in your project papers and one-pagers, this lecture is important and will help greatly.

Feb 8 2005

Tutorial assignments and locations are available now. If you have a scheduling conflict, go to the other tutorial section led by your recitation TA.

6.004 is a strict prerequisite for 6.033 (see FAQ). We won't assign students to sections if they have not finished 6.004 yet. If, after reading the FAQ, you still have questions about this policy, please contact Professor Balakrishnan.

There are nine recitation sections this term, not twelve as was previously indicated on Websis. So, if you pre-registered for a section, it is possible that the section you pre-registered for is no longer available. Please consult this list of available recitations and go to one of them on Tuesday, February 1 2005 (the first day of classes). During recitation, you will be given recitation preference sheets on which you can list your recitation and tutorial preferences. By 10pm on Wednesday February 2 2005, we will assign a binding list of recitation assignments for the rest of the term.

Please refresh all 6.033 web pages before viewing them. You may have a cached copy!

Questions or comments regarding 6.033? Send e-mail to the 6.033 staff at or to the 6.033 TAs at